Futatsuiwa from Sado
by Xsummergirl4235X
Summary: <html><head></head>Nue is tired of feeling like an outsider at the Myouren Temple. But soon, she will learn that, sometimes, the outside isn't such a bad place to be.</html>
1. Prologue

Up in the cloudy skies of Gensokyo, a shrine maiden and a nue fought it out in a danmaku battle unlike any other.

"Grudge Bow: The Bow of Genzanmi Yorimasa!" the nue cried.

Reimu darted back and forth, frantically dodging the falling arrows. One of the arrows came dangerously close to her chest, just grazing it by an inch and tearing off a small piece of her shirt. At last, the spell card ended, and all of the arrows disintegrated into the air.

The two halted in midair, both panting and covered in sweat.

"Ahhh, my true form has been uncovered by an unidentified shrine maiden…" The nue gawked in disbelief. "What am I going to do now?"

"Well," Reimu said, "you could start by fixing all those seeds of unknown form you scattered around. It'll be easier for Byakuren's group to find the other pieces of the Soaring Vault that way, right?"

"Why should I help that monk?" Nue spat. After all, that monk was on the side of humans, the very creatures that had sealed her underground for years.

Why on earth would she help _her_?

"Well, she's a friend of youkai, right?"  
>"Huh?" Nue stared at the shrine maiden, dumbfounded.<p>

Friends with humans _and _youkai? Was such a thing even possible?

"Especially youkai like you who were sealed away by humans," Reimu added.

"I didn't know Byakuren was like that…" the nue muttered remorsefully. "But, I got in Murasa's way, even though she was trying to help Byakuren. I'm the one that scattered the Soaring Vault everywhere. I can't show myself in front of them anymore…" She lowered her head.

"Well, do whatever you want. I won't seal you away—for now at least," The shrine maiden narrowed her eyes. "After all, I'm no friend of yours." And with that, she flew off.

Nue shrugged. "Hm, I'll just have fun scaring some humans." She chuckled to herself, dashing off in the other direction.

As she flew through the skies, thoughts of her conversation with the shrine maiden circulated throughout her mind. _Maybe this Byakuren isn't such a bad person after all. I should at least go apologize for what I did._ Nue stopped mid-air and changed the direction of her flight to the Myouren temple.

When she arrived, the monk and her fellow disciples were all seated in a circle with their eyes closed, chanting some weird mantra.

Nue landed abruptly on her feet, the noise startling the monks out of their meditation. "Um…hi," she muttered awkwardly.

Murasa looked over her shoulder, irritated. "You again. I should have known; only you would make such a rude entrance. So, what do you want this time?" she spat.

"Uh, well, you see…" Nue rubbed the back of her neck. "Look, I'm sorry about what I did to the vault. I didn't mean to get in the way. I'd even be willing to help pick up the pieces, if you'd like…heheh…" She chuckled anxiously.

"Oh my," Byakuren said, beaming. "Such kindness from a stranger."

Murasa flinched. "But she—"

"Enough, Murasa. I don't care what she did. As they say, the past does not define you; it is who you are now that matters. And right now, this young lady seems to have plenty of good in her."

"There she goes, being all philosophical again," Nazrin commented, rolling her eyes.

"And, uh, I'm not really all that young…" Nue added.

Byakuren ignored the comments and turned to Nue. "I am very impressed with your honesty and your gratitude. How would you feel about joining my temple?"

"Well, I don't really have anywhere else to go…" Nue muttered.

"Oh, dear!" Byakuren cried. "Then it's settled! Welcome to the Myouren Temple!" The monk rushed over to Nue and crushed her in a hug of superhuman Hijiri strength.

Nue awkwardly accepted the embrace, unaware of the cold sets of eyes that were fixated upon her.


	2. Tension

Several months had passed since Nue was accepted into the Myouren Temple, and besides having a new set of faces to keep her company, not much else had really changed.

"BOO!"

"EEEK!"

Nue nearly tipped over laughing as the humans dashed off in the other direction, clutching her sides in pain. "Man, that never gets old. And it sure beats sitting around at the temple all day. Speaking of which, I should probably get back soon, or Murass will be all up on my case," The nue flapped her red and blue wings and took off into the sky.

As she neared the temple grounds, she was greeted by the faint sound of shrieking.

"What the hell?" The shrieking intensified as she slowly hovered towards the ground. "Ah crap," she grumbled, "I know that obnoxious voice anywhere…"

The source of the shrieking came scrambling through the doors, her ears flapping frantically atop her mess of teal colored hair. "My broom! MY BROOM!" she cried.

"What about it?" Nue replied, unamused.

"It's broken! _Snapped in half!_"

"Can't you just get another one?"

"It was the only one I had! Lady Byakuren said that this broom came from the outside world; such a treasure is nearly impossible to come by in Gensokyo."

"The outside world, huh?" _I wonder what other sorts of treasures are floating around out there… _She pondered inwardly.

"Now that my broom is gone, I'll be forced to do everything by hand again!" The yamabiko fell to her knees, whimpering. "This is terrible!"

A sweat drop rolled down Nue's forehead. "Sheesh, you sure like to overreact to everything, don't you…?"

"Oh my, what is going on out here?"

Nue turned over her shoulder to see none other than Byakuren standing in the doorway, followed by Murasa and Ichirin.

"Someone snapped my broom in half!" Kyouko cried.

Everyone's head immediately turned towards Nue.

"Wh-_what?_" Nue sputtered. "Why does everyone always assume it's me?"

"Who else would it be?" Murasa said with a scoff. "Hn, you should make it up to her by letting her use your hair as a broom," The ghost captain stuck her tongue out at her. Nue responded by flipping her off, causing her to seethe in rage. "Oh, you wanna go?"

"I'd love to!" Nue responded, smirking. "I don't care if you're already dead; I'll morph into a chainsaw and slice your head off so you can die all over again!"

"I'll crush your fat head with my anchors!"

"I'd like to see you try!"

"Stop it, you two!" Byakuren cried, holding the two seething girls back from lunging themselves at each other's throats. "Honestly, you're both acting like such children."

"I have to agree, you two are being pretty childish," Nazrin suddenly interrupted, poking her head out the door. "However, I believe Nue is the real offender here. After all, I saw her do it with my own eyes. We were in the kitchen this morning, and she was using the broom to play air guitar. Then, she slipped in some tea and landed on it."

"Oh, come on!" Nue cried. "I thought that was gonna be our little secret!"

"Oh, Nue," Byakuren frowned, "Not only did you damage someone else's property, but you did so without telling anyone. I am very disappointed; this is not like you at all."

"Oh, _please,_" Murasa retorted, "She's always this way. Stealing things, pulling pranks, and making life difficult for everyone around here—she's nothing but a nuisance!"

"I guess you could say she's a…_Nuesance,_" Nazrin added, snorting.

"Stay out of this, mouse crap!" Nue snapped, causing Nazrin to retreat back into the temple.

"_You see?_" Murasa cried. "Look at the way she just treated Nazrin! Why, I oughta—"

"Murasa, calm down," Ichirin muttered, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I thought we were going to work on controlling your temper."

The ghost captain huffed, releasing all of her pent up anger in a single breath. "You're right...sorry. I guess I got a little out of hand."

"It's alright, dearie," Ichirin smiled and wrapped an arm around her, leading her towards the doorway. As they were walking, Murasa could be heard muttering under her breath, "It would be a lot easier if _she_ wasn't here…"

Byakuren walked over to the sobbing Kyouko and patted her on the head. "It's going to be alright, dear; I'll use my magic to fix your broom."

"R-really…?" Kyouko sniffed. "Thank you, Lady Byakuren."

"Oh yeah, I forgot," Nue said, "You're like, some all powerful youkai god or something."

Byakuren chuckled. "I guess you could put it that way. Though, 'god' seems a bit much..."

"Wait, couldn't you use your special powers to create a bunch of brooms?"

"Oh, heavens no! I do not use my powers for material possessions; I only use them to help others in need," She beamed brightly.

Nue half expected her to sprout wings and a halo, but she merely laughed it off. "Yeah, right…" she muttered, before wandering off to the kitchen to find the broom.

As she entered the room, Murasa greeted her with a deadly glare. "You've really done it this time," she said. "Now Hijiri knows your true nature. You're lucky she's oblivious to the fact that you were trying to stop us from freeing her, or your ass would be out of here faster than you could say _'namusan'_."

"Byakuren would never kick me out," Nue retorted. "She's way too forgiving."

"Don't be so sure. You better watch your back, Houjuu."

"Whatever, Murass."

Murasa narrowed her eyes and gave her the _'I'm watching you'_ gesture before leaving the room.

Nue felt a sudden wave of uneasiness wash over her, but she quickly brushed it off with a laugh. "Who cares what she says? Who cares if everyone around here can't stand me; I can't stand them either!" She crossed her arms and leaned against the counter. "They're all just a bunch of wet blankets—they never wanna have any fun. Especially that Murass. Everything I do pisses her off! Sometimes I wonder why I ever joined this place…"

The nue continued her musings as she wandered down the hall to her bedroom. When she entered the room, she let out a long sigh before collapsing onto her bed, resting her hands behind her head. Suddenly, it dawned upon her that Byakuren and Kyouko were still waiting outside for her, but she didn't care. "That yama-buttcheek can clean the entire temple with her hands for all I care."

Murasa followed suit and stormed off to her bedroom, followed quickly by Ichirin.

"Honestly, Murasa," she said, shaking her head, "I just don't understand this tension between you two."

"Clearly," Murasa retorted, attempting to slam the door behind her, but Ichirin stuck her hand in the doorway at the last second. "Just leave me alone, Ichi; I'm tired."

"No, we need to talk about this. Things have only been getting worse between the two of you lately, and it's time we got to the bottom of it."

"What more is there to understand? She's stupid, annoying, always causing trouble, and…"

"And…?"

"…" Murasa groaned. "I just hate the way she gets away with everything. Hijiri always lets her off so easy, no matter what it is. But whenever I screw up, even in the slightest bit, she scolds me like I'm a child."

"You shouldn't let that get you down. Hijiri just expects a lot more out of you, because she respects you greatly."

"I guess you're right. What has that punk ever done to earn Hijiri's respect? I swear, she lets just about anyone in these days. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if a new member showed up at our doorstep tomorrow."

"I wouldn't count on it," Ichirin said with a chuckle. "Well, I'm off to bed. I'll see you in the morning—perhaps looking brighter than usual."

"Only if _she's _gone."

"Now, don't be that way. Goodnight, dear."

Murasa grinned. "'Night, Ichi."

* * *

><p>Off in the bamboo forest, a brown figure dashed around.<p>

"Everywhere I look, it's trees, trees, and more trees! Oh dear," she adjusted her glasses, "If I'm not mistaken, this appears to be the Bamboo Forest of the Lost that Kosuzu was telling me about. And if that's true…then I must have wandered into Gensokyo! The land on the other side of the border…but how?"

The brown haired tanuki plopped herself down next to a tree and took a long smoke from her pipe. "Well, it looks like I'm going to be stuck here for awhile…" She let out a smoky sigh. "Eh, who knows? Maybe I'll find adventure while I'm here."


	3. Newcomer

Murasa paced back and forth in the kitchen.

"What's wrong, Murasa?" Ichirin questioned. "You seem tense."

"Oh, nothing, it's just…Hijiri's been gone all morning. I just hope nothing happened to her."

"Yeah," Nue said, "Who knows; maybe she got eaten by a wild youkai or something."

"Shut up!" the ghost captain snapped, slamming her hands down on the kitchen table. "How dare you talk about Hijiri that way! And with a smile on your face too—cut that out!"

Nue chuckled. "I'm just kidding, Murass. Byakuren's way too god-like to let some stupid little youkai get her."

"She's right, dear," Ichirin added. "Hijiri can take care of herself just fine."

Murasa huffed. "I guess you're right. But, you know, with everything that just happened to her, I can't help being a little paranoid."

Her mind flashed to Byakuren being hauled away against her will, struggling against the chains binding her wrists and ankles, hanging her head in despair. _No, I can't let that happen to her again._

"Hey, everyone!" Kyouko cried. "She's back! Lady Hijiri's back!"

Everyone rushed out onto the temple porch to greet their master.

"Hello, everyone," Byakuren said, waving. "I have returned."

"Oh, Hijiri," Murasa said, "We were so worried, we—" The ghost captain froze mid-sentence, her eyes darting over to the forest. "Oh boy, it looks like we have company."

Everyone took a step back as a mysterious creature rustled around in the trees.

"What is it? Is it a wild youkai?!" Kyouko cried.

"Looks like it. Hang on guys, I'll get the broom!"

"No, not my broom!" The yamabiko squealed.

"Hold it, Murasa," Byakuren interjected. "I assure you, the creature I have brought with me is friendly."

"'Creature?'_"_ The brown figure emerged from the trees. "Tsk tsk, have some respect."

"My apologies, dear," Byakuren said with a chuckle. "Everyone, I would like you to meet the new addition to our temple."

The brown-haired girl took a step forward. "I am Futatsuiwa from Sado, but everyone calls me Mamizou."

"Miss Futatsuiwa is an outsider who stumbled into Gensokyo by mistake; I found her wandering around the Bamboo Forest of the Lost. As of right now, we have no way of returning her to her hometown, so please do your best to make her feel welcome."

"We will, Lady Hijiri," Shou said with a bow.

"Good. Perhaps you can start by showing her around the temple a bit."

"Of course—in fact, I was just preparing lunch."

"I wouldn't eat that if were you," Nazrin teased.

Shou responded by flicking her in the side of the head, eliciting a small squeak from the mouse youkai. "I'll have you know, I'm a very good cook," she retorted, sticking her nose in the air.

A small snort escaped from Nue.

The tiger youkai whipped over her shoulder so that she was facing her. "_What?_" she snapped. "I am!"

The group entered single file through the temple doors and seated themselves around the kitchen table, except for Byakuren, who had other important business to attend to.

"Mmm…" Mamizou grinned as she placed a fork full of food into her mouth. "I must say, blondie, the food is very delicious."

"Ah, thank you…" Shou blushed lightly. "Oh, and my name is Shou."

"My apologies, Shou," The tanuki chuckled and pulled out a bottle of sake. She slowly untwisted the cap, earning mixed glances from the others.

"Is that…" Kyouko muttered, "…_sake?!_"

Shou gasped and slammed her fists onto the table. "How dare you? Lady Hijiri strictly forbids the consumption of alcohol in her temple!"

"Yeah, you wouldn't want her catching you with that stuff," Murasa added.

"Relax, guys," Nue interjected, "She didn't know the rules."

"That's right," Mamizou said. "Besides…" she added with a sly grin, "…she doesn't have to know," She leaned back in her chair and took a swig from her gourd, causing Shou to cup a hand to her mouth in disbelief. "Ahh…would anyone else care for some?"

"Wh-_what?" _Shou sputtered angrily. "Absolutely no-"

"I will," Nazrin said. "Hand it over."

Everyone stared wide-eyed at the mouse youkai sitting at the end of the table.

"Nazrin! How could you?"

"I dunno about you, but I'm tired of following these silly rules. A little alcohol won't hurt anyone, right?"

"B-but…"

"On second thought, I think I'll have some too," Murasa said. "I've been pretty tense lately."

"Indeed, just a little won't hurt," Ichirin added.

The gourd made several rotations around the table, until it was completely empty.

Moments later, Byakuren entered the room. "With all the work I've done, business will be booming around here, I-" Her scrolls dropped to the floor. "Oh dear!" The monk stared wide-eyed at the scene before her.

Nazrin was dancing half-naked on top of the table. "Check out my new moves…!" she slurred. Suddenly, the table broke in half, causing her to fall to the floor with a thud. She paused before erupting into a fit of drunken giggles.

Kyouko hung from the ceiling fan, singing—no, shrieking—in an awful, ear-splitting voice.

Byakuren's eyes then darted to the corner, where Murasa and Ichirin made out passionately. Unzan floated next to them, changing colors every few seconds. How the mystical cloud had consumed alcohol was beyond her—perhaps through evaporation in the air—but it didn't matter. "What on earth is going on in here?" she cried.

"H-Hijiri…" Shou stumbled over to the monk, grasping onto her shoulders for balance.

Byakuren gasped in disbelief. "Shou! You too?"

"N-Nazrin talked me into it…" she hiccupped. "My…what lovely hair you have…" She began petting Byakuren's hair, earning a startled yelp from the monk.

Mamizou sat back and watched all of this in amusement. "Heh, it's about time these folks loosened up."

It was no surprise that Nue had gone behind Byakuren's back and drank several times, so this wasn't the first time she had consumed alcohol. Nevertheless, she was feeling a bit tipsy, but not nearly as wild as the others.

"Oh dear," Mamizou chuckled, "I didn't think they would be this bad. It's as if they've never had a sip of alcohol in their lives!"

"I wouldn't be surprised," Nue replied, scooting closer to the tanuki. "You know, I like you. You're not afraid to bend the rules every once and awhile. I think we'll get along just fine."

"You're not so bad yourself, nue."

"How did you know my name…?"

"Oh, that's your name too? How funny! I was simply calling you by your species. Heh, Nue the nue—how cute."

"Shut up," Nue muttered, blushing lightly.

Later that evening, after everyone had sobered up a bit, Byakuren lectured them until their ears were ready to fall off.

"I cannot believe you would engage in such atrocious behavior…and in front of our new guest!"

"It was her idea…" Nazrin groaned, rubbing her head.

"Please forgive me, Hijiri," Mamizou said, "I had no idea that alcohol was against the rules."

"Yes, I suppose you didn't know…" Byakuren mused. "…but the rest of you did! I am very disappointed in all of you. As punishment, you will not rest until every inch of the temple floor is clean. Mamizou, I'll let you off this time, since you had no ill intent. The rest of you…get to work!"

"Yes, Hijiri…" the monks groaned.

They began in the kitchen, scrubbing the wooden planks clean with their toothbrushes. Two minutes into their work, Nue stood up and dropped her toothbrush onto the ground. "Screw this," she said, heading towards the doorway.

"Where do you think you're going?" Murasa snapped.

"None of your business, Murass," Nue retorted, quietly shutting the door behind her.

She ventured off to the pond, her favorite spot to escape from everything. She sat on the rocks and gazed up at the full moon glowing in the sky. "What a beautiful night," she mused to herself. "I'll bet a bunch of wild youkai are rampaging and eating humans right about now."

"So, that's your idea of beauty, huh?"

"Who's there?" Nue turned over her shoulder to see a silhouette with pointy ears and a large, fluffy tail. "Oh, it's you, Mamizou."

Mamizou sat down next to Nue and chuckled. "You amuse me, Nue. What have you got against humans, anyway? They're very wonderful creatures, once you get to know them."

"_Wonderful?_ Ha! Don't make me laugh. They're all heartless; I'd love to watch every one of them burn. In case you didn't know, it was humans that sealed Hijiri away for a thousand years."

"Oh, but they're not all the same. Just like there are mindless youkai that feed on humans for sport, there are also sane, gentle youkai—like you and myself—that can coexist with humans and live ordinary lives."

"Me? Coexist with humans? I'd rather die."

"Suit yourself. The ones I knew back in Sado were very fond of me—of course, they don't know I'm a youkai…" She rubbed the back of her neck anxiously. "But I'm sure they would treat me the same if they knew."

"Don't be so sure."

"Perhaps I could find out, if I ever go back home."

Nue froze. For some reason, the thought of Mamizou leaving made her feel uneasy. Though the two had only known each other for a day, she could already feel a strong bond forming between them. For the first time since she had arrived at Myouren, she didn't feel like as much of an outsider. Or, at least, she had found someone who was also on the outside like herself.

"Everything alright, Nue?"

Nue snapped out of her trance. "Yeah…you know, I should probably get back in there, or Hijiri will kick my ass."

"Yes, that would probably be wise."

"Hn, not like it'll make a difference; Murass probably already snitched on me anyway."

"You seem to have a lot of resentment towards that girl. Why's that?"

"It's nothing," Nue muttered, before standing up and making her way back to the temple.

Inside, the others continued their work.

"You know, Mamizou's not so bad," Nazrin commented.

"I like her!" Kyouko chirped.

"It's almost like having another Nue around," Murasa said, "Only less obnoxious."

"She seems like an all around good person," Shou added, "But she's also a bit on the rebellious side, which concerns me."

"Yeah, she better be careful, or she might get kicked out of this place."

"That would be a real shame. Nue seems to have taken a liking to her; perhaps it will improve her behavior a bit."

"Speaking of her…where the hell is she?"

"Right here, Murass."

Murasa turned over her shoulder to see Nue leaning against the doorway. "There you are. Just wait until I tell Hijiri about how you tried to ditch us."

Nue smirked. "After what happened today? I doubt she'll believe anything you tell her."

The ghost captain shot her a deadly glare before resuming her cleaning.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in the doorway, casting a shadow over the monks. "How are things coming along, ladies?"

"Hijiri!" Murasa yelped, startled by the monk's sudden presence. "We're doing just fine."

"Yes, it seems you've all been working very hard…except for you, Murasa. You seem to have missed a few spots."

"_Huh?_"

"Everyone else, you are free to go to bed, while Murasa finishes the rest of the rooms by herself."

"But I-"

"Enough. Are you really in any position to argue with me right now?"

The ghost captain let out a huff. "…no."

"Alright, then," Byakuren turned and exited the room, her cape bulging out behind her.

"Well, that was certainly strange," Ichirin commented. "Was she carrying a backpack or something?"

"Who knows," Nue replied. "Well, I'm gonna hit the hay. 'Night, guys."

The nue wandered down the halls to her bedroom, only to be stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She froze when she realized whose hand it was. _Shit, I'm busted. _"Hijiri, don't listen to anything Murasa says, I-"

Byakuren raised a hand to silence her, and a small chuckle escaped her lips.

"Hijiri…?"

Nue watched with a puzzled expression as the monk took a step back and began to transform her appearance. Her hair retracted until it was barely past her shoulders, turning brown in color. Then, two fuzzy ears sprouted on top of her head, along with a small leaf, and a pair of glasses on her now-tan face.

"_Mamizou?_ No way, you didn't…!"

Mamizou grinned slyly. "I thought I would do you a small favor."

"Oh man, that was great! The look on her face was priceless! I owe you one," She paused for a moment. "So, you can shapeshift too?"

"Yes, it is one of the many abilities of a tanuki. Though, I seem to have trouble hiding my tail…" The tanuki blushed lightly.

"That would explain the bulge. Oh well, it was still totally rad."

Mamizou beamed. "I'm glad you think so. If she ever gives you any trouble again, let me know," she added with a wink.

And with that, the two parted off to their bedrooms.

Nue laid with her hands behind her head and stared up at the ceiling. _Maybe being on the outside isn't so bad…as long as I've got you here._


End file.
